Numbers game Williams set to claim '98 Heisman Trophy

NEW YORK (AP) - The crowd cheered Ricky Williams in Lincoln, Neb., even though he was the reason Nebraska's 47-game home winning streak had just ended.

Then fans inundated Texas head coach Mack Brown with e-mails, begging him to pull Williams out of the Texas Tech game at Lubbock if he got too close to Tony Dorsett's career rushing record.

And on that final weekend before the Austin folks, Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Archie Griffin and John David Crow - Heisman Trophy winners all - stood on the sidelines and cheered as Williams smashed the record in grand style. He ran for 259 yards, including a 60-yard TD run for the record-breaker, and led the Longhorns to a 26-24 upset of rival Texas A&M.

It's been a remarkable ride for Williams, the gifted 6-foot, 225-pound tailback with the dreadlocks who came back to school for one more year to "win games and have fun."

On Saturday, Williams' sensational season is expected to come to a fitting conclusion: He's the overwhelming favorite to take home the Heisman Trophy, college football's most prestigious award. Among the other contenders are quarterbacks Michael Bishop from Kansas State, Tim Couch from Kentucky and Cade McNown from UCLA.

All three said they'd vote for Williams if they could, and would be shocked if anyone else walked to the podium at the Downtown Athletic Club to accept the trophy.

"There was a lot of pressure about the Heisman at first," said Williams, who carried 361 times for 2,124 yards and scored 28 touchdowns this season. "Everyone was looking at you, and every team was trying to stop you. But as the season went on, I didn't think about it as much. I just went out and played hard."

And when he finished, Williams found himself with 16 NCAA marks and 40 school records. In addition to breaking Dorsett's 22-year-old standard of 6,082 yards - Williams has 6,279 yards - the 21-year-old back from San Diego also has NCAA career marks for touchdowns (75), points (452) and all-purpose yards (7,206).

Last year, Heisman week was filled with suspense as Tennessee's Peyton Manning appeared to be the favorite, but Michigan's all-purpose star Charles Woodson became the first primarily defensive player to win the award.

Williams would become only the third running back in the 1990s to win the Heisman. Eddie George from Ohio State won in '95, and Rashaan Salaam from Colorado won in '94. Campbell was the only other Longhorn to win the Heisman, in 1977.